Chapter 53
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 53
Chapter Title: Home Visit
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Home Visit
Ju-hee's voice was unusual. The terrified sound sent a chill down my spine.
“Han Ju-hee?!”
I raised my voice urgently. But no answer came back.
“Where are you?! Answer me if you can hear me!”
-...
There was no response from the phone.
It was a stark contrast to the sobbing I'd just heard.
A wave of anxiety washed over me, wondering if something had happened to Ju-hee.
I kept shouting frantically, but all I heard was quiet silence.
-...
Soon, after a long silence, the call abruptly ended.
“Hello? Hello!?”
I stared at my phone, bewildered. Then, a hastily scrawled message arrived.
[Han Ju-hee: Heeeelllppp meeee]
It was obvious she wasn't okay. Something dangerous had clearly happened to Ju-hee.
Her previous death was probably related to this situation. My heart pounded like it would burst, and cold sweat poured down like rain.
I didn't need to see it to know what was going on.
A paranormal phenomenon.
The same thing that happened at school about a week ago was happening again at Ju-hee's house.
“Damn it...”
And here I was, blissfully waiting for Ju-hee to come to school, completely unaware.
There was no time for this. I hurriedly sent Ju-hee a message.
[Where's your house? I'm coming, so give me the address.]
Before long, a reply came from Ju-hee. Of course, it wasn't a proper message.
[Han Ju-hee: Hiiiighhh Paaalaceee]
High Palace, huh. It was an apartment complex close to my house.
It was close enough that I could run there in no time. I got ready to leave and stepped out the door.
“Where are you going?”
Dayeon peeked her head out. She was already in her school uniform, ready to leave.
Looking at her, I hesitated for a moment.
Should I take her with me?
To be honest, I was scared to go alone.
If possible, I wanted to go together.
But walking into a paranormal phenomenon was no different from suicide. For me, time would rewind if I died, but not for Dayeon.
For her safety, the right thing to do was to send her to school and go to Ju-hee's house by myself.
But Dayeon didn't seem to have any intention of doing that. As if she'd managed to read my expression, she subtly stuck close to my side.
“...What are you doing?”
“Weren't you going to skip school?”
“Well, yeah, but...”
“Then let's go together.”
I was taken aback. Was she doing this because she was worried about me?
Nah, no way.
I shook my head. Even for Dayeon, she didn't have a power like mind-reading.
She probably just misunderstood, thinking I was going off to do something fun without her.
“You'll regret it.”
“I'm fine.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Dayeon's expression was as indifferent as usual. Still, I could see a hint of resolve in her eyes.
At this rate, it was clear no amount of persuasion would work. She'd probably even tail me, so I finally waved the white flag.
“Do what you want...”
“Yay.”
Dayeon raised her arms in a cheer, expressionless and soulless. She didn't look happy at all.
I still couldn't figure out what she was thinking. Still, her effort to help me was commendable.
“So, where are we going?”
“Ju-hee's house.”
“To work on a project?”
“...Something like that.”
Dayeon tossed aside the school bag she'd bothered to pack and set out empty-handed.
“Let's go, then.”
“Whatever.”
And so, we ran straight to Ju-hee's house. But before we even got there, a new obstacle appeared.
“So, which way do we go?”
“Don't ask... I don't know either.”
I looked around. Grand, dazzling apartment buildings stood before us.
Towering apartments were packed together. Ju-hee's place was among them, but I had no idea which one it was.
It was because I didn't know the exact address. Ju-hee had only told me the name of the complex, not the building or unit number.
I sent another message, but there was no reply. She hadn't even read it.
I tried calling, but her phone was turned off. Thanks to that, I was completely lost.
Unable to pinpoint our destination, we just wandered around in circles. We were just endlessly searching for Ju-hee's home.
“Should we ask the security guard?”
Dayeon pointed to the security office at the apartment entrance. I wasn't very hopeful.
“How would the security guard know that?”
“You never know.”
Despite my reservations, Dayeon strode over to the security office. The apartment security guard greeted her with a gentle face.
Maybe because it's an expensive apartment complex. He was completely different from the typical security guards I knew.
He was especially on a different level from the guard at school during the early morning. The apartment guard's face radiated kindness.
How nice would it have been if the school guard was half as nice as that man.
I waited blankly, lost in useless thoughts. Soon, Dayeon bowed to the guard and came back.
“What did he say? Even if Ju-hee is a resident, it's only natural he wouldn't know her...”
“Building 101, unit 602.”
“...Huh?”
I couldn't believe my ears. The security guard gave you Ju-hee's address?
No matter how I thought about it, it seemed impossible. I asked her how it happened.
“Well, I asked, and he told me. He seemed pleased when I said I was her friend.”
“Pleased?”
“Yeah, he said to take good care of Ju-hee.”
Take good care of her. That wasn't something an apartment security guard would normally say.
Why would the guard say something like that? A question popped into my head. As I pondered it, I realized something.
Ju-hee wasn't an ordinary high school student.
She had an active social life, top-tier grades, and was a sociable model student.
...Unlike me, that is.
Isn't that exactly the type of personality adults love?
She was the classic girl-next-door that parents wish their own kids would emulate. There was no way the security guard wouldn't know her.
He must have seen Dayeon's uniform, assumed she was Ju-hee's friend, and readily gave her the address.
So that was it...
Still, for me, it worked out for the best. If I had come alone, I probably would've been denied entry by the guard at the entrance.
And so, we headed to Ju-hee's house using the address the security guard gave us.
“Unit 602, right?”
“Yeah.”
We reached the 6th floor in no time.
As we walked down the hallway looking for Ju-hee's apartment, an ominous thought crossed my mind.
I'm not going to die the moment I step inside, am I? I instinctively took out my diary. The first page showed this morning's time.
[Diary]
【Friday, April 7th, 7:30 AM】
The system had saved automatically. It seemed Chapter 2 had probably started around this time.
Does that mean Ju-hee from the last playthrough held out on her own until lunchtime?
I didn't know what was hiding in her house, but the fact that she survived for so long felt incredible.
...Of course, her end was nothing short of miserable.
The scene of Ju-hee plunging a kitchen knife into my stomach was still vivid in my mind.
Was that really Ju-hee back then?
Or was it someone unknown, disguised as Ju-hee?
For now, it was just confusing. After checking the save time, I closed the diary.
This time, I opened the Omake Mode. It was because of the message that appeared when I died earlier.
-Congratulations! You have reached an ending for the first time! A reward will be given.
【Reward – Ghost Story Coin x3】
Three Ghost Story Coins.
Compared to the single, stingy coin I got for escaping the school, the difference was stark.
Thinking I could buy something, I browsed the Omake Mode.
[Omake Mode]
1. Purchase Items
2. Progress Status
3. NEW! [Click to view]
4. [To be updated later!]
5. [To be updated later!]
Come to think of it, I hadn't checked the newly unlocked number 3 yet. I remembered only looking at the progress status before closing the window.
To check it, albeit belatedly, I tapped the screen. The window changed, and a program that looked like a slot machine appeared.
-Ting!
[NEW! - Draw Special Ability]
【You can spend Ghost Story Coins to draw a special ability. Use it wisely to clear the game!】
[Ghost Story Coins in possession: 3]
Ooh...!
My eyes lit up at the words 'special ability.' In gaming terms, that's a skill, isn't it?
Even if I couldn't shoot magic spells like in a game, it was definitely a useful function for future progress.
Besides, I was just about to enter Ju-hee's house. If I was going to draw a special ability, now was the perfect time.
[Spend Ghost Story Coins to draw a special ability?]
【Draw/Cancel】
Without hesitation, I pressed the accept button. As I initiated the draw, the slot machine in the background of the window began to spin.
-Whirrrrrrr!
Something flashed across the screen, showing all sorts of abilities. They ranged from ridiculously powerful ones to ones that were basically useless trash.
An RPG Maker game with a gacha system. I watched nervously, praying for a useful ability.
Whirrr!
The slot machine's spinning gradually slowed down before stopping at a certain point.
Is this it?
I stared blankly at the screen. Soon, a large, colorful window appeared.
[Congratulations! You have acquired the special ability ‘Manual Save’!]
Manual Save?
An ability that seemed to influence things on a meta level. I enlarged the window for a more detailed explanation.
[Manual Save]
【Shaking hands with a party member using your right hand saves that moment. Shaking hands with your left hand deletes the last save.】
Oh!
Isn't there a saying? Simple-looking abilities are often the most broken.
This was one of those cases. To think I could save whenever I wanted.
I no longer had to worry about the number of ink vials and feel anxious. All I had to do was shake hands with Dayeon whenever I wanted to save.
It felt like I'd gained a powerful backer. I walked down the hall with more vigor than before.
“This is it.”
“It feels kind of creepy...”
We found unit 602 quickly. According to the security guard, this was Ju-hee's home.
For some reason, the feeling was off. A chilling aura seemed to emanate from the door. The air felt similar to the school at dawn.
What's more, the door wasn't completely locked; it was slightly ajar. It was as if it were beckoning us to come inside.
Before going inside, I needed to save. Might as well use the 'Manual Save' I just got, right?
I subtly held out my hand. Dayeon tilted her head, looking puzzled.
“Are you scared? Want me to hold your hand?”
I wasn't particularly scared.
But I had to save, just in case.
Since it came to this, I had no choice but to play along with Dayeon to get her to hold my hand.
I had no choice but to nod.
“Hmm...”
Dayeon gave a somewhat surprised, alluring smile and grabbed my hand.
[Current point saved.]
A new window popped up. The effect of Manual Save had activated.
With that, the preparations were complete. There was no longer any reason to hold hands with Dayeon.
But Dayeon squeezed my hand tightly and showed no sign of letting go.
“Let's go, then? If you get scared, you can hug me anytime.”
“...Just cut the chatter and go in.”
With Dayeon in the lead, we cautiously stepped into Ju-hee's home.
An entrance hall, incomparably larger than it looked from the outside, greeted us.
“It's cleaner than I thought inside.”
“That's not the problem right now...”
The house was unrealistically spacious. Its layout was completely different from any apartment I knew.
It felt like stepping into a luxurious single-family home you'd only see in movies or dramas.
There was even a staircase in the center leading up to a second floor.
“Apartments have second floors these days?”
“No way.”
I was dumbfounded by the absurd structure of the house. After looking around the entrance, I was certain.
A paranormal phenomenon was happening, just as I thought.
There was no other way to explain this bizarre situation.
The same kind of paranormal phenomenon I'd encountered at school was now occurring in Ju-hee's house.
So this is what Chapter 2 was about.
In the midst of it all, a question arose.
Why Ju-hee's house?
I couldn't fathom why this place was chosen as the setting for Chapter 2. It seemed there was something hidden here that I didn't know about.
“I wonder if Ju-hee knows...”
Suddenly, I thought of Ju-hee's strange behavior over the past few days.
It was likely closely related to what was happening now. I needed to find her and talk.
To do that, I had to find Ju-hee, who was hiding somewhere in this house.
It was obvious this wouldn't be easy. A series of hardships lay before me.
My mind felt dizzy.
How many more times will I die? Just imagining it made my body tremble as if struck by lightning.
But I had to do it. Ju-hee got caught up in this phenomenon because of me.
...And it didn't end well for her.
To save her, I had to press forward, no matter what.
“You ready?”
“Are you?”
“No.”
“Want me to hold your hand again?”
“...I'm fine.”
And so, we began to search Ju-hee's house, which had been completely twisted by the paranormal phenomenon.
**
It wasn't long before we found Ju-hee.
She was huddled in the master bedroom's wardrobe, trembling like a leaf.
Th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th.
It was clear she wasn't in her right mind.
Still, was it a relief that we found her?
It was a swift success, achieved less than ten minutes after we entered the house.